


they're calling out loud (settle down)

by BookPirate



Series: say (what you want to say) [1]
Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Neighbors, clarke can talk to animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookPirate/pseuds/BookPirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke's sure there are cooler superpowers out there than her ability to talk to animals, but, unfortunately, she's stuck with being able to communicate with everything that isn't a plant. Maybe it's not so bad, though, when a cute guy and his Bernese move in next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	they're calling out loud (settle down)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt was originally "Alright you might think I’m crazy, but I’m a dog whisper and I’m positive that yours is saying that you should take me on a date" but I got carried away, as per usual.
> 
> Title from 'Settle Down' by the 1975

Clarke Griffin has been able to talk to animals for as long as she can remember. Her parents only ever thought she was playing make believe, like little kids are supposed to, so Clarke stopped insisting once she turned six. In fact, the only person who knew it growing up is Wells, because he was her best (and only) friend for a long time, but the novelty has kind of worn off after 27 years. It's just a fact now, like the fact that she's 5'5", has blonde hair and blue eyes. The only good it's ever done her is made her an extremely good vet, which isn't exactly what her mother wanted her to be doing but if she's going to have powers, she's going to use them for good.

Honestly she's kind of annoyed about the whole thing. If she could've picked her own superpowers, it would be telekinesis or something like that, not talking to fucking animals. It's not like being able to understand them makes them more intelligent. Case in point, her own cat, Murphy.

"Clarke," he whines, stretching on the windowsill.

"What?" she snaps. She's trying to fix the kitchen sink, and not really having much luck with it. But Raven bet her ten bucks she couldn't do it, so of course Clarke isn't giving up. "I'm busy."

"Clarke," he whines again, scratching at the window, "there's something going outside. I want to go outside."

She sighs, comes out from under the sink, and swipes the back of her hand over her forehead, trying to not get grease on her skin or hair as she wipes away the sweat. "You're an indoor cat. What would you even do indoors? You're fat and lazy."

"Fuck you," he says, glaring. "I'd be great at catching birds."

"You couldn't even catch the fucking mouse in here. How the fuck are you going to catch a bird?"

He turns his back on her and twitches his tail. Clarke knows this means she's won, so she goes back to fixing the stupid sink, and figures that's the end of it. Murphy usually sulks for at least a couple of hours after she wins an argument, so maybe she'll finally be able to concentrate. Unfortunately, not even fifteen minutes later Murphy's whining again. "Clarke, Clarke, Clarke, come here."

"What is it? Can't you describe it to me?" she asks, twisting the nut around the pipes a few more times. She's confident she's finally fixed it, once she's got it a little tighter.

"It's a man. There are boxes. And a girl. FUCK."

"What?" In her hurry to get up she smacks her head on the countertop. Cursing, she makes her way to where Murphy is standing on high alert, his tail bushy.

"Asshole," he growls. "They have a _dog_."

Clarke's lips twitch as she refrains from laughing. Not all cats hate dogs, but Murphy certainly does, especially big, shaggy ones, which is what this one is. It's a Bernese mountain dog, mostly black, and currently running circles around a teenage girl and what looks like her older brother, who are both carrying boxes from a truck into the condo next to hers. "Oh, neighbors! I should go say hi."

"Why? They're dog lovers. Obviously not worth the time." Murphy places his paws on the glass and scratches.

Clarke shoves him off the windowsill. "You know you're not supposed to do that. Go be grumpy somewhere else."

He hisses but stalks off anyways. Clarke watches them for a little while, mostly to ascertain if they need help or not. It looks like they might be close to being done, though, so she goes back to the sink.

An hour later, her kitchen is flooded. Murphy is yowling at her from the counter as she desperately tries to stop the mess. "Where's your friend?" he screeches at her.

"Not here, asshole," she snaps. "Be helpful and call her for me."

Murphy is like most cats and refuses to be trained for many things, but he likes being able to dial her from her speakerphone and leave long, rambling messages to annoy her. It's a business office-style conference call speaker phone, so Murphy only has to press one button and it instantly dials Raven's number. "Reyes."

"Help! It's flooding!" Clarke shouts helplessly. "Where's the valve to shut it off?"

"Dios, you didn't even shut off the goddamn water before you tried to fix it?" Raven barks angrily. "It's at the back of the house."

"What is she saying?" Murphy demands. Even though there's no 'animal language' Clarke speaks, animals can also only understand her, except for the few words they're usually taught. "Is she telling you how to fix it?"

"There's no like individual sink shut off thing?" Clarke tries, ignoring Murphy.

"That's what you were supposed to be fixing!" Raven sighs. "I'm coming over. Turn off the water main." The line clicks.

"Tell me what she said!" Murphy yowls. "I want it to stop!"

"I'm going to make it stop, asshole, I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"You're the worst. I want a new home!"

"Stop being a fucking child," she snaps, and then there's a knock at the door. "It's open! Thank God you're here," she says as the door swings open, turning her attention back to the busted pipe. "I couldn't just let it spray water everywhere, Raven. Someone had to hold this towel in place!"

"Because clearly that's helping," a male voice says.

Clarke jumps and the towel drops, letting the pipe spray her from head to toe, knocking her on her ass. "Fuck!"

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" The stranger scrambles and grabs the towel, stuffing it back in place.

"Who are you?" She wipes the water out of her eyes and finally looks at him properly. She recognizes him as her new neighbor from earlier, and is a little shocked at how much more attractive he is up close. There's a smattering of freckles on his face that she wants to draw. And/or lick. She hasn't decided yet.

"Bellamy Blake. I just moved in next door, with my sister. What happened?"

"There was an incident," she says, hedging. "My friend is on the way."

"I noticed the water pressure dropping, so I thought I'd come over and see if yours did, too. I see why now." He looks at her, amused. "Did you try to fix it or something?"

She scowls at him. "Shut up."

"God, you're lucky I live so close," Raven announces as she steps into the room, but stops when she sees Bellamy. "Oh. Who are you?"

"Neighbor." He looks back at Clarke. "This your friend?"

"Fortunately." She grimaces as she takes Raven's hand and is pulled upwards. "I'll shut off the main."

"Do you know where it is?" Raven asks sharply, before Clarke can even get two steps.

Clarke blushes and avoids Bellamy's eyes, who is clearly amused at this entire situation. "Back of the house, right?"

Bellamy bursts out laughing while Raven takes a deep sigh. "Come on, I'll show you."

Once Clarke has learned where the water main is and how to shut it off, Raven waggles her eyebrows at Clarke. "So, hot new neighbor."

"Ugh," Clarke lightly shoves at Raven, "right. He's going to think I'm the biggest idiot."

"Well, at least you don't have to pretend you're not."

"Thanks, Raven," she says, dry. "I can really feel the love."

"I'm fixing your plumbing for you, that should make you feel plenty loved," Raven shoots back as they re-enter Clarke's house.

Bellamy is wringing out the towel in the sink as they walk in, looking up as they approach. "Oh, hey. I didn't know where you kept your mop, so I've been trying to use this towel, but it's sort of useless."

"You don't have to do that." Clarke blushes. "It's bad enough I've already affected your water pressure."

He smiles at her and she goes a little weak in the knees, and curses herself for it. "I'm already here and soaked, so I might as well," he says. "Now, mop?"

"I, ah, don't have one. I use a Swiffer. But I'll show you where the towels are." She leads him to the hall closet, and swings it open only to find herself face to face with Murphy.

"Is the water gone? Who's this asshole? He smells like dog," Murphy growls.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here, Jesus." Clarke picks up Murphy, who digs his claws into the towel underneath him and takes it with him as Clarke carries him out into the living room.

"Towels make you dry! I'm protecting myself!"

"You're an idiot. You'll be fine," she tells him before turning around, coming face to face with Bellamy, who's holding a huge stack of towels. Her mouth goes a little dry at the sight of his arms and hands, from where he's rolled up his shirtsleeves.

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Your cat is very vocal."

"He's also really needy." She ignores Murphy's noise of protest and takes a few towels. "Thank you for helping with this."

"Well, I caused you to get sprayed head to toe, so I figure it's the least I can do." The smile he gives her is devastating and all she can think is 'well, fuck.'

Raven's done by the time they get back to the kitchen. "Literally the easiest fix in the world," she says, wiping her hands on the towel in the sink. "I'll go turn on the main, and then you owe me ten bucks and a beer."

Clarke scowls at her as she and Bellamy begin to mop up the mess. "She charges you money for fixing things?" Bellamy asks, amused.

"No, I lost a bet. She charges me beer, and sometimes hard liquor, depending on how big the fix is." Clarke sighs dejectedly. "She usually fixes everything, though, because I'm sort of a mess. I don't know if you can tell."

He laughs, easy and bright. "It was a little hard to miss." She scowls at him, too, until he raises his hands in surrender. "This is the first time I've met you so I could be wrong, but I just call them like I see them."

"Thanks," she says, dry.

He grins at her, and then there's a beat of silence, before he asks, "So, with all the commotion, I never really got your name?"

"It's Clarke Griffin," she says, starting to smile. "What a great way to meet someone. I guess you're really impressed with the area now, huh?"

"Exactly what we were looking for. I told my sister, 'We need to find a house next door to a woman with a cat who can't fix kitchen sinks', and so here we are."

She laughs. "Well, welcome to the neighborhood. I only screw up every other month, though, so mark your calendar."

"Will do," he replies, just as Raven walks in.

"It's fixed, and I'm collecting that beer now," she says, walking to the fridge. She opens it. "Fuck, where's the beer?"

"I haven't had a chance to get more beer from the last time you were over," Clarke grouses. "You drank my whole six-pack."

"I've got beer," Bellamy suddenly offers, "if you two want to come over."

Raven shrugs. "Sounds good to me."

Clarke looks down at herself. Her clothes are still mostly wet. "Um, I might pass."

"Just get changed and come over, it'll be fine," Bellamy insists, turning to walk out. "That'll give me time to change, too."

"See you in ten, then," she says with a smile, which he returns as he shuts the door behind him.

Raven waggles her eyebrows again. "Ooooooh."

Clarke rolls her eyes and marches to her bedroom. "Shut up."

"Seriously, though. He's way hot, and when's the last time you got laid?" Raven asks as she follows her friend. "Lexa was a year and a half ago, babe."

Murphy's sitting on Clarke's bed. "Is the water gone yet?"

"I know, I know, okay? But don't you think it's a bad idea to get involved with him? If it goes badly we still have to live next-door to each other," she says as she gets out of her wet clothes as fast as possible.

"You're thinking about dating the dog boy?!" Murphy meows indignantly. "And what about the water?"

Raven tosses a fresh shirt at her. "Or, it'll go great and you'll have a bunch of cute babies. Shut your cat up."

"The water is gone, Murphy, chill out," she tells him. "And it's none of your business what I do with _Bellamy_."

"Fine, see if I care." Murphy stalks off with an indignant flick of his tail.

"What's his issue?" Raven asks, amused.

"Bellamy has a dog, apparently," Clarke says as she finishes buttoning up her shirt.

"This should be interesting."

Raven's got a glint in her eye that makes Clarke a little wary, but she promises to behave as they knock on Bellamy's front door.

A girl of maybe 18 answers it. "Oh, you must be Clarke and Raven. Come in!" she says brightly.

They do, only to have the Blake's dog rush at them. "There are people! New people! Strange people!" he barks. The girl lunges for his collar, but misses as he dances in front of Clarke and Raven.

"Hey boy," Clarke holds out her hand for him to sniff and lick, "I'm Clarke, and this is Raven."

"Are you friends?" the dog asks, sitting down immediately.

"Good boy," she replies, and scratches behind his ears.

"I like under my chin the best."

"What's his name?" Clarke asks the girl, who's staring with both awe and suspicion, as she starts scratching the dog under his chin. He leans forward and starts drooling against her leg.

"Um, Cerberus." She tilts her head so she's still watching Clarke and the dog, but her chin is angled over her shoulder. "Bell, get in here!"

He walks in towel drying his hair, which is possibly the sexiest thing Clarke has ever seen. Maybe Raven's right, and she just really needs to get laid. He stops, though, when he sees Clarke and his dog. "Um."

"What?" she asks a little defensively.

"Nothing, it's just that -"

"Are you Snow White?" the girl demands. "Cerberus usually needs to be restrained when new people come over."

Raven coughs, which Clarke knows is covering a laugh. She elbows her friend a little, saying "I'm just really good with animals."

The girl doesn't look impressed, so Bellamy says, "O, stop being rude. Did you even introduce yourself?"

She rolls her eyes impressively. "Sorry, I was more concerned with them being _mauled_." She holds her hand out to shake. "I'm Octavia."

"Nice to meet you," Raven says. "Now, where's the beer?"

Bellamy's apparently got a 24 pack of PBR, so, after expressly limiting Octavia to two, they sit around the kitchen table and get to know one another. Cerberus rarely leaves Clarke's side, however, and it takes a while for the Blakes to move past that.

"Seriously, do you have dog treats in your pocket or something?" Octavia asks.

"I'm really just good with animals," Clarke stresses. The last thing she needs are the new neighbors figuring out she's basically a Disney Princess with R-rated language. "I just graduated and became a vet, actually."

"You're a vet?" Cerberus asks horrified.

"Haha, seems like he knows the word." She pats him on the head. "It's okay, boy, I'm a good one." He relaxes against her with a sigh of relief.

"Where'd you go to school?" Bellamy asks.

"U of Ark. They've got a really good veterinary school."

Bellamy brightens up. "That's where Octavia is starting in the fall."

"What do you want to study?" Clarke asks her.

She shrugs. "I don't know yet. I'm planning on just taking a bunch of classes and seeing what sticks."

Raven taps Octavia's beer can with her own. "Cheers to that. Don't worry, you'll get it figured out."

Bellamy huffs as Octavia shoots a smirk at him. "That's not an actual plan," he says.

Raven raises an eyebrow at him. "It worked out fine for me."

"And what do you do now, besides rescue friends from themselves?" he asks, smirking at Clarke.

Clarke glares at him while Raven laughs. "I work for the Army, doing some security stuff that I literally can't tell you about."

Bellamy begrudgingly looks impressed. "Just because it worked out for you doesn't mean it'll work for everyone."

"Your turn now, Mr. Put-Together," Clarke says.

Cerberus thumps his tail a couple of times, and Octavia laughs. "He is so not put together, oh my God."

"Shut up, O." He scowls at her. "I was a Classics Major. I work at the university doing archiving-related things."

"So is that why you moved?" Clarke asks.

"Yeah. We grew up in Walden, and I went to school out there, but uh," Bellamy rubs the back of his neck, "after our mom died, we kind of needed a change of pace."

He looks highly uncomfortable, and so does Octavia, so Clarke just taps his beer can with hers. "Well, my dad is dead, too, and so is Raven's mom. We can be the Dead Parent Club."

Raven snorts and Bellamy and Octavia laugh, which is what she's going for. Cerberus looks a little confused, but Clarke expected that. Dogs generally don't get human relationships.

After that the Blake siblings are much more open and relaxed, and Clarke is really enjoying the night. Raven also looks pretty happy, which is saying something. Raven usually hates people. Clarke can't help but admire Bellamy more and more as the evening wears on, which might suck in terms of her feelings, but it'll be great to have a new friend. She makes a mental note to bake some cookies for them.

Finally, Clarke and Raven have to go. As the Blakes say goodnight, Octavia stops Clarke. "What's your schedule most days?"

"Um, my shifts are usually nine to three on the weekdays, why?" she asks, slightly suspiciously.

Octavia brightens up and Bellamy groans. Before he can stop her, Octavia asks, "Would you mind taking Cerberus on walks when you get home? Between my class schedule, and the job I have at the university, and Bell's job, he'll be alone for like 9 hours without someone. We were going to hire a dog watcher but maybe you could do it!"

"O!" Bellamy sighs. "You can absolutely say no, and we can also pay you. I apologize for my sister."

Clarke laughs. "It's fine! I'd love to do it. I've only got Murphy, my cat, and I miss having a dog around."

They work out the details, and Bellamy smiles at her a lot, so by the time she and Raven make it through her door she's feeling pleasantly buzzed and happy. Murphy comes up to them as soon as the door closes. "You smell like dog," he accuses, before winding himself around her legs, and then Raven's, to rub his scent on them. He's really territorial when it comes to dogs. And other cats. And basically all other animals.

"Get used to it, bud," she tells him. "I'm gonna be walking that dog once a day in a little bit."

Murphy twitches. "I hate you."

"Yeah, I know." She turns to see Raven staring at her with a strange expression on her face. "What?"

"You should totally pump Bellamy's dog for information on him!" She grins. "Then you can seduce him without any trouble."

Clarke laughs. "Yeah, like his dog would know how to seduce him. Ew, Raven. Go home."

"I'm just saying." Raven smacks a kiss to her cheek. "Night, babe."

Clarke ends up not really seeing the Blakes a whole lot before she starts walking Cerberus, just because they're busy unpacking for the first few days, and then Octavia and Bellamy's jobs start up. In fact, the next time she sees Bellamy is the night before she starts walking the dog. He knocks on her door just as she's changing into her pajamas and almost doesn't hear the knock,

"God, you could be useful and tell me when people knock you know," she hisses at Murphy, who's sitting on the windowsill near the door. He turns his face away from her, though, because he's still mad about the whole dog thing. She knows he still curls up with her in the middle of the night when he thinks she's asleep, however, so some of the effect is lost. She swings open the door, and is suddenly self conscious of the fact she's in her matching Spongebob Squarepants tank top and pants. "Um, hi."

Bellamy grins down at her. "Hi."

She stares at him for a few seconds before remembering herself. "Sorry, come in. What's up?"

He holds out a key to her. "Here, for the house. Thanks again for doing this. He should be fine on water and everything else so it's literally just a walk."

"It's no problem. I should probably give you a key, too, actually, give me a second." She digs through the drawer of the little table she keeps by the door for the spare key her old neighbors returned to her when they moved out.

"You're giving him a key? To what? This house?" Murphy yowls. "He's going to break in with his dog and murder us."

She glares at him briefly before finding the key. "Here. Now we're even."

"Unless you want me to cat sit, I don't think we're even."

She laughs. "Oh, trust me, I would take Murphy to one of those pet hotels. He's way too high maintenance."

"Fuck you, too," he growls from his perch, before getting up to sit on the table by the door, so he can stare up at Bellamy and stare at him in what he thinks is an intimidatingly fashion.

"Aw, kitty," Bellamy says, and strokes him, instead of being intimidated.

"I begrudgingly like this," Murphy meows, before adjusting his head so Bellamy can scratch his chin.

Clarke snorts, causing Bellamy to look up. "What?"

"Nothing," she says, "Murphy just rarely allows himself to be petted by people who aren't me, and even then it's a little sketchy."

"So my dog loves you, and your cat loves me." Bellamy grins. "Interesting." He holds her gaze for a few beats, before saying, "Well, I should probably go. It looks like you were about to crawl into bed."

She blushes and looks back down at herself. "Gag gift from one of my friends. But yeah, I should be going to sleep."

His hand is on the door when he suddenly turns around. "Wait, we never exchanged numbers." He fumbles around in his pocket, before pulling out his phone and handing it to her. "Here."

"Good thinking." She enters her number quickly and hands it back. "Text me so I have your number."

"Will do." He smiles down at her again. "Goodnight, Clarke."

"Goodnight." She stands looking at the door for a few seconds after he leaves, only shaken out of her reverie by Murphy pawing at her, his sign for wanting to be carried.

"Clarke. Hey, Clarke."

"What?" She picks him up.

"I guess he's okay, but we have to get rid of the dog."

She snorts. "He lives in a whole other house, Murphy, you're fine."

"That's what you say," he grumbles. He does curl up with her before she falls asleep, though, so she figures she's forgiven.

Soon Clarke falls into a comfortable rhythm, going to work, coming home and walking Cerberus, and then spending time with Raven and/or Murphy, before going to sleep and starting it all over again, occasionally punctuating it will a pizza night with the Blakes. She skypes with Wells once a week, because he works for the U.N. and therefore isn't around, and texts Bellamy every day, sending him goofy pictures of Cerberus or arguing about things like Harry Potter or the Peloponnesian War, which Bellamy has very strong opinions on. She's liking him more and more as the weeks pass by, but she's accepted she's already fucked, so she's dealing with it.

At least, she thought she was, until one day when Cerberus asks, "What's a date?"

Clarke chokes on the water she's drinking as they sit under a tree in the nearby park. She keeps forgetting dogs have a higher capacity for learning human vocabulary than cats do. She never has conversations like this with Murphy. "What?"

"A date. Octavia is mad because Bellamy won't let her go on one."

"And this has never come up before?" she asks him incredulously. "You've never heard about dating before?"

"Maybe, but no one understands me when I talk. You do. Why?"

"Good question. If I knew, I would tell you." She sighs. "I don't even know how I would understand the concept of a date to a dog."

He puts his head in her lap. "You could try."

"Yeah." She absentmindedly strokes his head as she thinks. "Well, I guess a date is what happens when two people who like each other a lot want to hang out, just the two of them."

"But Bellamy and Octavia do that all the time." He rolls over so Clarke can scratch his belly.

"Dates are different." She sighs again, because dogs have no concept of romantic love, or really familial ties unless they're enforced. "Octavia and Bellamy have the same mom, so they can't date."

Cerberus is quiet as Clarke scratches his belly, thumping his leg reflexively. "You could go on a date with Bellamy."

"What?" Clarke coughs.

"Yes! It's perfect!" Cerberus barks happily. "Octavia likes you, and if you go on dates with Bellamy she'll be happy because she can go on dates, too! I don't know who she would date, though."

"She probably knows who she wants to date." Clarke chews on her lip. "Usually when people go on dates, one person asks the other."

"So? You can ask."

"I don't know if Bellamy likes me enough to take me on a date." She stretches and stands up. "You have to like someone a lot."

Cerberus walks perfectly in line with her. "He really likes you, though!"

"How can you tell?" she asks as they turn a corner. People look at her like she's crazy, but she doesn't care. At least Cerberus isn't in a pink sweater, which is definitely something she's seen happen. That dog was _not_ happy.

"He smells happier when you come over."

Clarke wishes she was a dog sometimes, especially when she talks with Cerberus. Everything is so easy for him. She sighs. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay!"

A week passes, and every day Cerberus is more and more insistent that Clarke and Bellamy go on a date. He barks it at her not only when she takes him on walks but whenever she comes over, too. Finally, one day, she snaps. "Fine, Cerberus, I'll ask him, okay?"

"Yes! Okay!" Cerberus thumps his tail on the floor with excitement.

She sighs and sends a text to Bellamy. _What time do u get home?_

Her phone goes off seconds later. _Like 6:30 tonight why?_

She bites her lip and tries to think of a good way to phrase what she wants to say. _Could u txt me when u get home? I need 2 talk 2 u_

_Are you okay?_

_Y, dont wrry! Its just a q_

She lays face down on her floor after she comes back to her place. Murphy pokes her. "Clarke, Clarke. Are you dead?"

"No. You can't eat my face yet. Wait like three hours, though, I might be."

He pokes at her again. "Why?"

"People problems." She sighs. "If you dial Raven I'll give you a treat when I get up."

Murphy moves so quickly she swears he's just a black blur for a moment. "Reyes," Raven answers as soon as she picks up.

"So, the dog has convinced me to ask out Bellamy."

"Ha! I knew it. Wells owes me like five bucks."

She frowns in the general direction of the phone. "This is such a bad idea."

"Is the dog coming over? Is that what this means?" Murphy panics.

"It's not a bad idea, don't listen to the cat." Raven pauses. "I mean, I'm assuming that's what that yowling was."

"Yeah." Clarke sighs again. "I'm gonna tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"That I'm moving to Vegas," she says sarcastically. "What do you think I'm going to tell him?"

"Oh." Raven is silent for a few beats. "Well, good luck with that."

"Any tips?" she asks hopefully.

"I mean, I only believed you because of that argument we got into with Finn and his parakeet, so no, not unless that exact situation happens with Bellamy."

"Oh, God." Clarke rolls over and bursts into laughter imagining it. "Thanks for that imagery."

"Any time. You got this, chica. I believe in you."

Clarke smiles. "Love you, babe."

"Love you, too." The line clicks as Raven hangs up.

After what seems like years, 6:30 rolls around and she gets a text from Bellamy saying he's home. "Well, wish me luck, Murphy."

"Good luck? Humans are weird." He stretches on the couch.

"I'm not arguing with you." She gathers all her courage and walks the few feet to the Blakes' house, knocking on the door quickly, before she can lose her nerve.

"Hey," Bellamy says as he opens the door. "What's going on?"

She steps past him into the living room and fidgets. Cerberus bounds up to her. "Are you going to ask Bellamy on a date now?"

She pats his head. "Okay, I have two things, and one thing is going to be very big and shocking but you're not going to believe me so you might want to be near a chair or the couch so you have the option to sit at some point, even though you probably won't need to right away."

He raises an eyebrow at her. "Oh-kay?"

She takes a deep breath in. "I can talk to animals."

His facial muscles work in fascinating ways and a part of her wishes she had her sketch pad with her. He finally settles on, "What?"

"The reason animals like me so much is because I can talk to them," she explains, trying to make sure she's not just rushing through the words, but saying them so he can understand them.

"I don't understand. That's not possible."

She sighs. "I told you. Look, ask Cerberus a question I couldn't possibly know the answer to that he would. I know that's fucking weird, but humor me, okay?"

He's starting to look at her like she's a crazy person and she hates it. He does, however, ask Cerberus, "What's the one thing I let you do that you can't do when Octavia's home?"

She repeats his question to Cerberus, who cocks his head. "Bellamy lets me eat off his plate."

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" Clarke makes a face at Bellamy. "He says you let him eat off your plate, which, gross."

"Only when we're alone!" he says defensively, before realizing what she's saying. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, I know it's a lot. Sorry for springing it on you, it usually doesn't come up."

Bellamy gives a hollow-sounding laugh and runs a hand over his face as he sits down in the closest chair. "Yeah, I'll bet."

"So, I should probably leave." She makes it three steps to the door when Bellamy doesn't respond, before Cerberus catches up with her, blocking her way.

"You didn't ask him on the date!" he growls. "You promised."

She sighs. "I really don't want to get into it now, okay? Later."

"Wait, what is he saying?" Bellamy demands.

She feels like crying. This is why Lexa left, and why she'll never have Bellamy. Lexa wanted to use her as some sort of tool for whatever government project she was working on and now Bellamy wants her to be the interpreter for him and his dog. Great. "He's just bringing up an old argument we've had."

"I'm not letting you leave," Cerberus promises.

"That's not fair. What are you going to do, bite me?" she asks.

He sits firmly in front of the door. "Just try and move me."

Bellamy approaches him slowly. "What does he want?"

She rubs her temples. "He wants me to do something that I really don't think is something that needs to be done right now, okay? Look, I know, it's great you have this freak of a neighbor that can be an interpreter for you and your dog but I'm actually also a person and I need to go."

"Hey, you told me," he snaps.

"Which was obviously a mistake," she snaps back.

"Why? Because I'm having a fucking adjustment period? It's not every day some one you l-," he stops, takes a deep breath, " _care_ about drops this shit in your lap."

"Because the only reason I told you in the first place was because I really fucking like you and I want to date you but I wanted to get this out of the way because I -," but then she can't speak any more, because Bellamy has tugged her to him and is kissing her like he's dying. It's messy and passionate and makes her toes curl, as he licks into her mouth and uses his arms to press her torso to his. She runs her fingers through his hair and bites his lip, making him moan.

Cerberus whines at this, "Ewwww," and Bellamy and Clarke both break apart laughing. He doesn't let her go, though, so she rests her head on his shoulder and slides her arms around his waist.

"So," she begins, not really sure what to say.

"So," Bellamy places a kiss to her hair, "I really fucking like you and I want to date you, too. I'm glad you told me, but, for the record, I wanted to date you before you told me this, okay?"

She burrows her face into his neck, breathing in his unique 'Bellamy' scent and letting herself feel his warmth. "Okay," she says, and it finally feels like it will be.


End file.
